The Marksman [The Talent of Three: Book 1]

22 ••• The Rescue Mission

Several revisions later, Atheris stalks through the forest, Chip following behind at a distance. Atheris's eye catches on a buck. She silently draws an arrow, motioning for Chip to stop, and nocks the arrow. She pulls the bowstring back, aims for the animal's jugular, and lets the arrow go.

The buck turns just in time to see the arrow coming. He turns and bounds away. Atheris hisses between her teeth. She creeps forward, retrieves the arrow, and continues her prowl.

Two more times Atheris misses her target, much to her confusion. 

"Hey, it's alright," Chip says when she misses the third time.

"But I never miss!" Atheris protests. 

"Atheris, you're not usually trying to save a friend's life, are you?"

"No," Atheris admits.

"There's your problem," Chip says. "Now relax. Take as much time as you need."

After that, Atheris hits her target. 

•••

Dragging the carcass of the old buck, Atheris and Chip follow what hoofprints they can find, praying the tracks will lead them by chance to Kayne. 

After several wrong turns and retries, Atheris hears voices. She glances at Chip. "Do you hear that?"

"The voices? Yes."

"We must be getting close. You go ahead, I'll drag this past that griffin nest we found back there."

Chip frowns. "Are you sure? What if they catch you? What if—"

"Chip," Atheris says, putting a hand on his arm. "It's alright. I'll be fine." She holds up her knife. "I have this. And my bow. I can defend myself."

"You're dragging a carcass."

"And I'll drop it if I need to," Atheris promises. "Go. Find the centaurs. I'll be fine. I promise." And before Chip can protest, Atheris turns and pulls the carcass back the way they came. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Chip watching her, his expression suggesting he wants to argue. But after a moment, he, too, turns and hurries along the path, toward the voices.

•••

Even before Atheris reaches the griffin nest, she can hear them squawking. The sound sends chills down her back. 

Gathering her courage, Atheris drags the buck closer to the nest. She makes a squawking sound similar to a griffin call, catching their attention. The griffins screech the moment they catch sight of the buck.

Atheris takes off at a run, the best run she can manage while dragging the buck's carcass. To her surprise, the griffins are hesitant to jump on the carcass. Instead of attacking the buck outright, as Atheris expected, they follow at a distance, their steps careful and wary.

Atheris takes them back to the spot where she and Chip split ways. "Chip?" she calls hesitantly.

"Over here," he says quietly, stepping out from behind a tree. "The centaurs are gathered around a fire talking about—" His voice fails him. "About a sacrifice."

"To what?" Atheris asks, not sure if she wants to know the answer, dread yanking in her gut.

Chip hesitates, eyeing the griffins behind her nervously. Atheris hisses at them as one tries to steal the buck from her.

"I— I don't exactly know," he says. "They only call it—"

The griffins shriek. One divebombs the buck, leaving Atheris to yank it back. "Let's talk about that later. Help me get this to the centaurs!"

"No, but that's the thing—" Chip begins. Then a griffin screams and launches itself at them. He clamps his mouth shut and grabs the other end of the buck. 

Moving quickly together, they drag the buck towards the centaurs. Through the trees, Atheris catches glimpses of the centaurs standing, revealing the fire they were sitting around. Atheris barely has time to register that the fire is blue. The centaurs frown at the sounds of the screeching griffins. Atheris and Chip stop.

"Ready?" Chip asks.

"Yeah," Atheris pants. They hoist the carcass and toss it toward the centaurs, who barely have time to scramble away before the griffins attack. The centaurs draw their bows, yelling battle cries, and attack the griffins, who no longer care about the buck—but a centaur is a meal they would never give up.

"Now what?" Atheris whispers.

"We creep up behind one, bind it with ropes, and demand to know where Kayne is."

Atheris gives him a glance. "You think that'll work?"

"It's a shot."

Atheris thinks. "Oh, why not? We'll probably do stupider things by the time this is done and over with." Together they leap out of the trees and charge the centaurs.

•••

Chip holds a dagger to the centaur's throat from behind and Atheris holds her bow steady, an arrow aimed right between the creature's eyes.

"Where is he?"

"Who?" the centaur asks, a cocky smirk on his face, despite the weapons so close to ending his life.

"Kayne. The human."

"Not here."

"Tell us where, centaur," Atheris snaps, "unless you'd rather have an arrow in your head."

"My kinsmen will do much worse to me should I tell you," the centaur says. Atheris knows he's right. She lowers her bow.

The centaur she and Chip ambushed is a young one. His human half has skin the color of burnished bronze and his eyes are a startlingly blue. His horse half is a dark Lusitano. He was armed with a bow when they grabbed him—which Atheris swiftly took, along with his quiver full of arrows.

"Then perhaps we can offer you a deal," Atheris says, thinking quickly. "If you tell us where Kayne is, we will release you and I will do what I can at Quest's end to save you from the wrath of your tribe."

"My tribe will not wait until the end of your Quest to take their revenge on me."

"Then you can help us during the Quest," Atheris begins. "The centaurs are revered by all. You war only with humans. All creatures already know of the powers of the centaurs. You could join us, aid us on our Quest. You will spare yourself the pain and you will earn the respect of the Archer Talent Pack. You would be the centaur to make peace between humans and centaurs. Your name would be remembered and honored."

The centaur studies Atheris. "You have a way with words, Archer. Some would say you belong in a Talent Pack with literature."

Atheris gives the creature a tight-lipped smile.

He nods. "I will help you."

"Where is Kayne?" Atheris asks, meeting Chip's eyes. She looks back down at the centaur, her chest squeezing, hoping for an answer she can live with.

"The river. But you do not have much time. My kinsmen plan on sacrificing him. By midnight."

Atheris's eyes flick up to Chip's. He looks pale as he glances at the watch on his arm.

"Eleven."

The centaur nods. "You have less than an hour to reach, free, and escape with your friend."

"We'll never make it in time," Atheris whispers, horrified.

"On your own, certainly not. But with help, perhaps."

Atheris and Chip stare at the centaur as he bends.

The centaur raises an eyebrow. "Well? What are you waiting for? Get on!"